Policy Text
Field Services Page 1 of 8 07/01 (REV 5/18)
Domestic Violence
The purpose of this order is to establish a procedure for handl ing domestic violence
calls in a manner consistent with California Penal Code provisi ons enumerated under
Part 4 Title 5, “Law Enforcement Response to Domestic Violence” . (PC 13700)
I. General
A. Domestic violence is defi ned as abuse committed against an a dult or a
minor who is the spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former coha bitant or
a person with whom the suspect has had a child or is having or has had a
dating or engagement rel ationship. The definition includes sam e sex
relationships.
B. Abuse is defined as intentional ly or recklessly causing or a ttempting to
cause bodily injury, or placing another person in reasonable ap prehension
of imminent serious bodily injur y to himself or herself, or ano ther.
C. Officers shall treat a request fo r assistance in a situation involving
domestic violence the same as any other request for assistance where
violence has occurred.
II. Infliction of Bodily Injury
A. Any person who willfully inf licts upon his or her spouse, fo rmer spouse,
cohabitant, former cohabitant, or person with whom the suspect has had a
child, any corporal injury resu lting in a traumatic condition, is guilty of a
felony.
B. Holding oneself out to be t he husband or wife of the person with whom
one is cohabitating is not necessary to constitute cohabitation as the term
is used in this section.
C. Traumatic condition is defi ned as a condition of the body, s uch as a
wound or external or internal inj ury, whether of a minor or ser ious nature,
caused by physical force.
III. Arrests in Domestic Violence Cases
A. Officers are discouraged, bu t not prohibited from making dua l arrests.
Officers shall make reasonable effo rts to identify the most dom inant
Field Services Page 2 of 8 07/01 (REV 5/18) aggressor. The dominant, or “primary” aggressor is the person
determined to be the most signi ficant, rather than the first ag gressor.
B. In identifying the primary aggressor, an officer shall consi der the intent of
the law to protect victims of domestic violence from continuing abuse, the
threats creating fear of physical injury, the history of domest ic violence
between the persons involved, and whether either person acted i n self-
defense.
C. In situations where mutual p rotective orders exist, liabilit y for arrest under
Section 836(c)(3) PC applies only to those persons who are reas onably
believed to have been t he primary aggressor.
D. Section 422 PC states that i t is a misdemeanor or felony to threaten to
commit a crime which will resul t in death or great bodily injur y to another
person, with the specific inten t that the statement, made verba lly, in
writing, or by means of an electr onic communication device, is to be taken
as a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out. The threat
must be so unequivocal, unconditi onal, immediate, and specific as to
convey to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose that caus es that
person to be in a state of susta ined fear for his or her own sa fety or for the
safety of his or her family.
E. Felony Arrests
1. An arrest shall be made in a domestic violence incident wher e there
is probable cause to believe that a felony has occurred.
F. Misdemeanor Arrests
1. Where an officer has probable cause to believe that a
misdemeanor has been committed in his or her presence, the
suspect shall be arrested.
2. If the incident involves the violation of a domestic violenc e
protective or restraining order , and the officer has probable c ause
to believe that the violation has occurred, the officer shall a rrest the
suspect, absent exigent circums tances. The violation need not
have occurred in the officer’s pr esence, and the victim does no t
have to sign a citizen’s arrest.
3. If a suspect commits an assault or battery upon a spouse, fo rmer
spouse, fiancé, cohabitant, former cohabitant, parent of the suspect’s child, or a person wit h whom the suspect is having or has
had a dating or engagemen t relationship, a child of the suspect , a
child of a person in one of the ab ove categories, any other per son
related to the suspect by consang uinity or affinity within the second
degree, or any person who is 65 y ears of age or older and who i s
Field Services Page 3 of 8 07/01 (REV 5/18) related to the suspect by blood or legal guardianship, a peace
officer may arrest the suspect without a warrant when the offic er
has probable cause to believe t hat the person to be arrested ha s
committed the assault or battery , and the arrest is made as soo n as
probable cause arises.
G. Officers shall evaluate the lik elihood of a continuing offen se in deciding
whether to cite and release. Among the factors to be considere d are the
following